2000 – The International Space Station receives its first long-term, three astronaut crew, Expedition One. The ISS has been continuously manned ever since.
Howard Hughes flew the Hercules about one mile at an altitude of 70 feet.
1947 – The Hughes H-4 Hercules (NX37602), more widely known as the “Spruce Goose,” lifts about 70 feet above the water in a channel near Long Beach, Calif., flying in ground effect for about a mile. It’s the first and last flight for what at the time was the largest airplane ever built.
1931 – USS Akron, a helium-filled rigid airship designed as a flying aircraft carrier, makes its maiden flight as a commissioned ship of the US Navy, from Naval Air Station Lakehurst, New Jersey. Akron would be lost in a storm in 1933.
